Deposits
Deposits shows every booking's security deposit from collection to refund, so you can see which ones are due back and record each refund.
Before you start
- Where: Finance → Deposits (
/finance/deposits). - Permissions: Finance → Module and Finance → Approve Payments (only Super Admin by default). The row actions need their own permissions (see Row actions).
- The settings that change refunds are in Settings → Global Settings → Charges & Payments: Allow refund before contract end, Enable deposit disputes and Use the "Ready to refund" status (see Booking and payment defaults). The refund due date comes from the Deposit Refund Limit in Settings → Payments (see Payments), which a booking can override.
- The date range, Other Filters and Export work as described on Finance. A deposit is listed when its check-in, check-out or refund due date falls in the range.
- Cancelled bookings are listed only while the deposit still holds money that must go back to the tenant; once nothing is owed on that deposit, they leave the list. Those rows show a cancelled chip and offer Mark refunded when a refund is due.
- Ended stays follow the same rule: a booking stays listed while the deposit holds money, the tenant has money to get back, or the deposit has been refunded. A stay that ended with no deposit paid and nothing owed back leaves the list, the cards and the Overdue Deposits figure on the Overview.
Screen tour
Timeline cards
| Card | Deposits of bookings that are… |
|---|---|
| Total | All of them |
| Upcoming | Before check-in |
| Ongoing | Between check-in and check-out |
| Pending refund | After check-out, up to the refund due date |
| Overdue | Past the refund due date with no refund recorded |
Deposit lifecycle status cards
Not paid, Partial paid, Fully paid, On hold, Disputed, Ready to refund and Refunded. Ready to refund counts only deposits your team marked ready while Use the "Ready to refund" status is on.
Click any card to filter the list. Search with Search unit, tenant, or IBAN....
Columns
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Unit Name | The unit (or the property when the unit has no name) |
| Booking | The tenant, with the booking status |
| Amount | The security deposit set on the booking |
| Paid | How much of it the tenant paid |
| Balance | The booking's balance; negative when the tenant still owes money |
| Est. Refund | What you would give back today: the deposit paid (up to its amount), minus any part of it already used to pay charges, plus Balance. Never below zero |
| Refund Due Date | Contract end date or check-out date (as set in Deposit Refund Limit Reference) plus the number of days in Deposit Refund Limit |
| Refunded On | The refund date, once recorded |
| Status | Upcoming, Ongoing, Pending refund, Overdue, Refunded, or Not Refunded when the booking has no dates to place it |
| Tenant IBAN | The IBAN on the tenant's profile |
Row actions
| Action | What it does | Needs |
|---|---|---|
| Mark refunded | Records that you returned the deposit, dated today. On a deposit on hold, VIVIN asks Refund a deposit on hold? first | Bookings → Refund |
| Revert refund | Undoes the refund record after you confirm. It does not move any money | Bookings → Refund |
| Put on hold / Release hold | Holds back a partly or fully paid deposit (or one ready to refund), for example while you assess damage | Bookings → Edit Items |
| Mark disputed / Resolve dispute | Flags a fully paid deposit as disputed, or returns it to the normal flow | Bookings → Dispute, and Enable deposit disputes on to mark one |
Refund a deposit
- Click Pending refund or Overdue.
- Compare Est. Refund with Balance: when Balance is negative, the tenant's debt is taken from the deposit.
- If you need to change the amount or deduct damage, open the booking and use its Deposit tab. For the full routine, see Refunding a security deposit.
- Make the bank transfer to the Tenant IBAN.
- Click Mark refunded. To record a different date, change it on the booking's Deposit tab.
If the deposit was already invoiced, the refund leaves a credit note to issue: see Issue credit notes.
Rules and limits
- Mark refunded appears once the stay has ended (Pending refund, Overdue or Not Refunded) and the refund is allowed: from the contract end date, or at any time when Allow refund before contract end is on.
- A disputed deposit cannot be refunded until you resolve the dispute.
- Use the "Ready to refund" status only adds a marker; it never blocks a refund.
- Airbnb and Booking.com short stays have no security deposit, so they never match a deposit filter.
- Overdue Deposits on Finance Overview counts the overdue deposits of all time, whatever the date range here.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Mark refunded is missing | The stay has not ended, the contract has not ended, or the deposit is disputed | Wait for the end date, turn on Allow refund before contract end, or resolve the dispute |
| Mark disputed is missing | Enable deposit disputes is off, the deposit is not fully paid, or you lack Bookings → Dispute | Turn the switch on, or ask for the permission |
| The refund is blocked on a Hostkit account | The deposit shares a Hostkit invoice with other charges | Follow the Hostkit steps in Transactions |
| Est. Refund is 0 | The tenant's debt is larger than the deposit paid | Follow up the debt; nothing is left to return |
Tips
- Click the Refund Due Date header to sort and work through the oldest refunds first. Every column except Tenant IBAN sorts this way.
- Put deposits on hold while you assess damage, so nobody refunds them by mistake.
Related
- Finance: Overview, Income and the shared filters
- Refunding a security deposit: from the final balance to the recorded refund
- Bookings: a booking's Deposit tab
- Transactions: refund rows and credit notes
- Booking and payment defaults: refund and dispute switches